Aspen Food and Wine, 2010

I have just signed up for the 2010 Aspen Food and Wine. The event starts off with Thomas Keller talking about preserves. Really? I cannot imagine. Then there is Mario Batali and Ligurian food. That should be entertaining and interesting. Then Morimoto will be demoing Japanese knife techniques. Would that I could have a knife and practice.

Then the next day, June 19th, starts off with Jacques Pepin. That's him on the left.

There have been so many good hints and shortcuts and inspiring dishes he shows the appreciative audience. The next demo is with Rick Bayless, my favorite Mexican chef. Then Jose Andres with be discussing salt. That's him on the right.

On Sunday I will be going to the Biggers demo on Quickfire Challenge.
Needless to say the days are full of tastings, with all of the wine you can consume, in beautiful Aspen, CO.
Wish you could join me!

Pastry class 4

Sacristains, mille feuille, palmiers tarts. Phew. We has made the quick and classsic puff pastry dough yesterday, so all there was to do today was give the classic puff pastry another two turns, make some more pastry cream and figure out how to shape the doughs. Here is a picture of our day's schedule.
The chef, Faith Drobbin, is great at demoing the specific steps to making everything. Then we have to do it. Ours seldom look as good as hers. Maybe that has to do with all of her experience.
Below, left, is an example of my cheese palmiers.The right image is of my smoked salmon and chive mille feuille.

Neither are bad, just not perfect. I should have trimmed the mille feuille before putting the cream cheese/chive and salmon on. Should have put less cream cheese. Should not have added salt, even though the recipe called for it. Should have pressed the top on harder before I cut it up. The palmiers are not great 'cuz I didn't brush all of the dough off during the last roll up stage. I cut them when they were too warm. Etc. It goes on endlessly. There were some great things produced.  I couldn't stand doing one more sweet thing (three days of tasting sweets almost did me in.), but other people in the class did these yummy things.
As usual there are lots more pictures  here

Pastry class 3

Paris Brest (a pastry named for the bicycle race between Paris and Brest), èclairs, cream puffs, profiteroles and both classic and quick puff pastries. Chocolate glaze, chocolate pastry cream, coffee pastry cream. Wow. We rolled and beat and made all of these. It was exciting to fold and roll, stir and make all of these. I had never used a pastry tip and pastry bag, so that was and unusual thrill. The class went well. Well, except for being chased out of the room because of the lack of ventilation and extreme cooking from the next room.
The quick puff pastry went very fast, the classic was slow, but somehow satisfying. The amount of butter was frighteningly wonderful. I made a coffee (espresso, actually) pastry cream that was stunningly luscious. I kept secretly leaving too much on the spatula, then quietly grabbing a finger full. The èclairs came out perfectly ... we made small ones that were perfect two bite morsels.

I came home covered in flour. Shirt, pants and shoes all dusted. And I got to go out to dinner with nephew Robbie and his wife, Lisa. We went to a wonderful Italian restaurant, Antonucci,170 E 81st St, were given a magnum of the best red wine I had ever tasted, and I had a special meal with great company. Then a taxi ride with a chatty fellow. Yum. I am in love.
As usual I took a bunch of pictures, and even a video or two, and they are here

Simple and Savory Fish

I love fish and seafood, so this class could have been designed with me and my peeps in mind. And I felt very privileged to have Marge Perry as the instructor. I was thrilled when she started the class by talking about the Monterrey Aquarium list of acceptable (in terms of ecology)fish. She couldn't have known I have one of these in my wallet and consult it every time I shop for seafood. We got great tips like yes, you can freeze salmon and catfish, you bring fish home from the store, wash it, dry it, and re-wrap it.  Another treat for the class was that Lee and Pablo were the assistants.
I liked this class because of the seafood and that our team got to do two dishes. Our team, Jennifer, Lena, Sal and myself did blackened swordfish (with remoulade) and Spanish catfish.

The recipe that I was most interested in was the salmon. It was served with Moroccan Tomato Relish. The dusting of the fish with the tiniest bit of flour before sauteing was a great tip. Also the tip about the tiniest amount of oil needed to fry fish was important and so obvious once we cooked the fish.
Ms Perry demoed every step of the way, explaining, in this picture, that salmon has different thicknesses and how to cook it evenly (fold the skinny end over on itself). She also helped when one of our team was too enthusiastic with ground clove, showing how to fix boo-boos.

The best dish was the scallop dish ...I am a big fan of hoisin sauce. And I am not that crazy about scallops. Marge explained about "dry" scallops versus others, which have been injected with a saline solution to 'plump' them up. the scallop dish was done with noodles and veggies.
The other exciting dish was the "quick and easy" paella. It took a short time and seemed foolproof. Our instructor, Marge Perry, also made sure that we had help with suggestions about plating.
As usual I took many pictures. They are here. I haven't put up the comments on those pictures, yet, but they will be coming.

Pastry class 2

Today was apple day.
We started off making crème patissiere. We began by taking 1 cup of milk from a quart and adding, with a whisk, 3 ounces of cornstarch. Broke 4 eggs and added 8 yolks to the cornstarch/milk mix. Beat them up. The remaining milk we added to 1.5 cups of sugar, then brought that combo to a boil. Then took it off the heat and added the egg/milk/cornstarch gradually, beating the whole time. Then strained it back into the pot. (The pot, by the way, was a saucier ... rounded sides, so that whisking got into all of the edges and sides.) Then we put it back on the stove, and brought it to a boil, whisking constanly. It got very thick. Then we took it off the heat and beat in 4 ounces of unsweetened butter and 4 teaspoons of vanilla. We put this in a steel bowl, and put that bowl into another filled with ice. As soon as it cooled down we put the finished crème patissiere in the fridge.
Then it was onto apples. We cut, cored and sliced piles of Golden Delicious apples.
We made individual fruit tarts, tarte tatin, and two kinds of apple pie. The dough for

these yummy things came from the pate brisee we made yesterday. It sat in the fridge overnight. The rolling out was a breeze. The pictures will show you better than words what we made.
Once again Chef Drobbin was patient, encouraging and more casual about pastry measurements and techniques  than I had thought possible. As usual I took oodles of pictures. You can see the rest of them here.

Pastry class 1

Chef Faith Drobbin, who also teaches about cakes and chocolate, rocks as a knowledgeable teacher. I had no idea how to do the most basic of things dealing with dough. She had great hints ("Do not roll over the outer edges of the dough." High altitude? Eliminate the baking powder.) She was very specific. She demoed each step very slowly and specifically. We also had one of my favorite assistants, Lee Henderson. He always has great tips (today's had to do with a broken saran wrap box ... "arm technique" ... where you use your whole arm to tear the sheet. He also gave a great hint on a pizza place, which I tried out and loved.)
We started with a "forgiving" (because of eggs in it) dough, pate sucree. We could make the dough in a Kitchen Aide or a Robocoupe or by hand. Since we have a Kitchen Aide in Colorado, I did my doughs in that machine. We kneaded the dough briefly, then shaped it into two discs, wrapped them in plastic and refrigerated them. Then we moved on to the fillings for the doughs.

We did a frangipani, a frangipani with fruit, a lemon cheese tart with strawberries, a chocolate hazelnut tart, a coconut custard pie, pecan pie, a cherry pie and a blueberry crumble pie. The pies were done in either a pyrex pie pan or a tin pie pan. The tarts were done in a tart pan with the removable bottom or a tiny,tart pan.
After these baked we cleaned up and made another king of dough for tomorrow ... a pate brisee. This dough is more difficult to deal with, says chef. We measured carefully and mixed lightly so that the butter is visible. Then shaped it, cut it in half, made it into discs and refrigerated them.
As usual I have more pictures than you see. If you want to see more go here

Sicilian Cooking

This class was a delight in many ways. The chef, Giovanna Bellia La Marca, was engaging and knowledgeable. We started off with the history of Sicily, the history of her cooking, and stories of her children and grandchildren. She, like many of the other chefs, has a cookbook called Sicilian Feasts. We cooked fried black olives, caponata, crostini with fresh tuna, a spinach pie, penne with cauliflower, sausage in wine, lemon chicken, and a fantastic dessert called cassata siciliana.
It was the the most relaxed class so far. There were not an overwhelming number of dishes to prep. We all got to walk around and watch the other dishes being prepped. The instruction was like your mom or grandmother teaching you. The big surprise was the scraps of dough left over from the spinach pie. She gathered them, rolled them out, cut them up, then fried them in a little oil. We then dipped them in leftover ricotta (sweetened for the cake with confectioners sugar) or leftover gravy (from the bottom of the roasting pan for the lemon chicken).

Of course I took many pictures. They are here.



The chef needs our help to find a utensil that she uses. Do you remember sprinkling water on clothes before ironing? She uses it to sprinkle wine. The only place she can find one is the Vermont Country Store ... unfortunately you have to pay for a bottle to go with it and it ends up costing $12. Let me know if you know where to find them.

Asian Surf and Turf at ICE

I loved this class. The teacher of this class was Wai Hon Chu. He has a book that I would love to look at,The Dumpling: A Seasonal Guide. He was wonderful at demoing all of the steps to all of the recipes.
We started off prepping all of the ingredients for sushi, Vietnamese Summer Rolls , sauces, pad Thai and marinating the chicken and pork. We made the summer rolls first, and that was easier than I thought and tastier. The rice paper was dipped, for about 30 seconds, in water. Then lettuce was put down. On top of that was a large pinch of rice noodles (dipped in boiling water, then cooled in cold water, then drained)Then came julienned cucumber, julienned avocado, then sprigs of cilantro, mint and Thai basil. Then we carefully rolled it until the lettuce appeared in the top. Then poached halved shrimp and/or crab and a sprig of garlic chives. The dipping sauce rocked. It started out with peanut butter, slightly thinned with water. I cooked chili flakes in oil, added water, added tomato paste (actually we didn't have any, so we used ketchup!)the peanut butter, hoisin sauce, and fish sauce. Delicious.

We made the pad thai, cooked the pork, made a Malaysian Chicken Rendang Curry, Chinese scallion pancakes, Chinese long beans (deep fried first), and fortune cookies. Also sushi. It was another exhausting night, with huge rewards.
Once again I took many more pictures during the night, and they are here

French Country Cooking

The chef for the French Country Cooking Course was Peter Berley who wrote Modern Vegetarian Kitchen and Fresh Food Fast and his latest is The Flexitarian Table. I took a look at the newest one, and it really spoke to me. I will be ordering when I get home.Thats him on the right.

We did a bunch of cooking. Because of the time constraints I simmered cod (then flaked it), boiled potatoes, fried bacon, stirred sauces, fried onions and kept the workplace clean. (my work partners all had specific things they wanted to do.) Our team of 5 did a mousse, a gratin parmentier (like a shepherd's pie, but french), and a fish salad. The other teams did French empanadas with fennel sausage, a chocolate mousse, a veal stew, a cheese quiche and a soup. The soup sounded very strange (lettuce in a soup?), but it was terrific.
The one day only classes are more social than the 5 day courses, but I am still learning stuff. A good example for today was about the potatoes ... boiling them with the jackets on keeps them from getting water logged. We used Idaho russet potatoes where as in the past I would have used red potatoes.
As usual I took more pictures that these, and the rest are here.

Pizza pizza pizza

Oh, did we learn pizza. The teacher, Gerri Sarnataro, really knows her stuff. She first talked about the ingredients for the base... double zero flour, yeast, honey, warm water, kosher salt. Then the timing ... you need to start 24 hours ahead of when you plan to make the pizza, it needs time to ferment and relax. Then, after taking the dough out of the fridge it needs two hours to do some more relaxing. The dough was surprisingly sticky and fussy. I went into the class thinking I was going to throw the dough around.
We made pizza dough with 1/10 ounce of cake yeast in 9 ounces of warm (baby bath temperature) water, 1/10 ounce of honey, 14-16 ounces of double zero flour, 1/4 ounce of salt and 1/4 ounce of olive oil. This gets rested.

The teacher, and assistants, had made the dough ahead, so we cut off (NO stretching!) 9 to 11 ounces of pre fermented and rested dough. Then technique came into play ... we had to make a round ball, with tightly stretched skin. This rested in a warm, draft free place for and hour ... as we prepped the toppings.
The placement of the pizza on the peel was important ... right up to the front edge. The forming of the pizza crust was important, the cutting of the ingredients was important ... all worth it.
I have put up the rest of the pictures from the pizza class here
Chef Gerri has a cooking vacation spot in Umbria, Italy. Check it out.

Day 5, Fine Cooking 1 at ICE

I made mayonnaise. That really rocked my boat. We grilled vegetables, made a salad of raw beets and carrots, marinated flank steak (and cooked the marinade, then added creme fraiche and put it over the meat), flambeed bananas, had a great time.
The picture on the right is of Yuki, one of my cooking mates, making mayonnaise. She is from Japan.

On the left is Teca, from Brazil, and Michelle. These three women were my constant, cheerful companions in the 5 day class. We laughed and commiserated every day. We shared life stories and cooking hints. It was a joy to get to know them.
Tonight I will be taking a course called "Pizza in Rome".I am guessing that pizza in Rome is different from pizza in Naples. I will let you know.
If you want to see more pictures I have posted the rest of the day's photos here.

Day 4, Fine Cooking 1 at ICE and 7 Moles, day 2

The morning at Fine Cooking 1 was wrapped around eggs. We poached, boiled, made French omelets and souffles with dozens of eggs. We had a new teacher, who is a teacher in the professional classes (as opposed to the recreational division) and she inspected all of our eggs and made us do another if the first one didn't meet her standards. There were many failures, but we all passed inspection after throwing out many sad looking eggs. The picture at the right shows the instructor, Chef Lorrie Reynoso, at the start of the poaching demo.

I managed a "terrific" with my first poached egg. Had to do several omelets (learned the difference between French ... no color, tri-fold.... and American omelets). We also did a Salade Nicoise with freshly grilled tuna (it has hard boiled eggs). This class was intense in a different way ... the exactness that the chef expected was strenuous, but fun.

Then, after a hour of putting my feet up, I went off the the 7 Moles class. I was in charge of re-fried beans (mash, mash, mash ), tortilla chips (fry quickly, salt immediately after they are pulled from the hot grease) and margaritas (2 parts tequila, 1 part lime juice, 1 part Cointreau, sugar to taste). Here is a picture of the final spread. We learned how to cut up a chicken ( something that I had wanted to learn while I was here!)Many of the moles had been started last night, so the intensity of last night's Mole class was not as tense. I am not much of a drinker, but had 3 or four margaritas and a beer and some wine. I wove my way home/hotel at 11:30pm.
I have loaded up all of the pictures from the day here if you want to see all of the gory details. (the internet connection at the hotel is spotty and slow, so I am taking a shower while they load. Couldn't get on at all yesterday! The shower has its own weirdness ... only a millimeter of difference between just tepid and scalding.)

7 Mexican Moles, Day 1 at ICE

After the lamb shank class (from 9:30 to 3:30) I ran back to the hotel, flopped on the bed and then got up almost immediately for the evening class (6pm-11pm) on moles.

As you can tell from the picture the kitchen for this class is similar to the Fine Cooking class. There were exceptions. There was a salamander to broil things under, there was a dishwasher (of the human kind), there were different machines (robo coupe instead of regular blender, etc), and this was the first time this class was offered. It was an intense class. We prepared 7 types of moles, soups, tortillas, tamales, drinks, rice, and other odds and ends. Most of the moles were pre-prepped for the next day. We also made drinks ... beer with Maggi, Worcesteshire sauce, hot sauce and soy sauce... called michilada. Made tequila and sangrita (tomato juice, orange juice mix). We strained, browned, poached, rolled, chopped and flame cooked ingredients.Then we sat down and ate some of what we made.
My assignment was mole amarillo with poached chicken. It was very similar to the moles I have made in the past. I did learn, from Fine Cooking 1, how to poach chicken, which made the whole thing tastier than I had ever made before. Also the straining of the sauce through a chinoise made the mole smoother than previously.
The chef's name was Dan Stone. The helper was Pablo. Both of them knowledgeable and cheerfully helpful. I wish that the class had been a tad less intense. Although the class is called "7 Moles" I actually learned only one.I will let you know how the next night turns out.
If you want to see the rest of the pictures they are here.

Day 3, Fine Cooking 1 at ICE

Today was focused on braising. The chef instructor, Sandra McLean, talked about the different temperature it takes to break down collagen, about the temps and times it takes to get meat tough and then tender.
I am full of mussels, braised lamb shanks, leeks with bechemel sauce, endive salad and chocolate mousse. I am overwhelmed with cooking techniques, fun interactions with fellow students, and great instruction. We started the day with prepping the lamb shanks. We browned the lamb shanks in oil, took them out of the pan, added mirepoix (practicing our dicing techniques)and smashed juniper berries , cooked that down, added red wine, then put the lamb shanks back in. We then coverd the pan and put it in the oven. Then onto the techniques of cleaning leeks and endives. We then made the mussel liquid (lots of shallots, wine, thyme and white wine). Next we moved onto the leeks. We had to braise them in chicken stock in the oven, take them out, cover with lemon juice, reduce the liquid to a scant 2 tablespoons. Then covered them with the bechemel sauce and stuck it back in the oven. The endive salad was next, with whisking up a classic vinaigrette and keeping the cleaned and julienned endive in iced water. The mousse was intensive work, with a sabayon. At the last minutes we tossed the salad and put the mussels in the hot liquid.The results were surprising to all of the students. We ate and ate and kept commenting on how surprised we all were at the results.
I took many pictures. You can see the rest here.
Now I am back at the hotel trying to rest up for the next class at 6pm ... 7 Moles.

Day 2, Fine Cooking 1 at ICE

Here is a picture of the kitchen where we have lessons.
The table to the left is where we start the lesson, then finish there by eating what we have prepared.
We made chicken stock, then roasted trussed chickens, did several rice pilafs, arborio rice chicken soup with escarole, several salads, a baked tomato and several different clafouti. The trussing of the chickens was great. There were techniques and steps I had never thought of. Then we made a compound butter (tarragon minced extremely fine mixed with softened butter) to stuff under the chicken skin.

We put them on a roasting rack, then put them in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes. Then we put in the bottom of the roasting pan diced celery, onions, carrots and a cup of chicken stock for the gravy and turned the oven down to 350. On the left is a picture of the teacher, Sandra McLean, showing us how to do stuff.
Then we stared the rice soup and the rice pilafs (one with pine nuts and dried cranberries). Time flew as we ran up and down the room getting ingredients, utensils, washing hands and vegetables, clean side towels, and reading the ingredient lists.
The teacher is great. She is more than willing to share her expertise, and really knows her stuff.

Here is the final array of dishes.
Normally I am not particularly interested in food after I have cooked it, but this stuff was terrific. The chicken was the best I have ever had, the gravy was tasty, the salad was scrumptious. The rices were all interesting. The dessert was dynamite. The soup was delicious.
I have posted a bunch of pictures here, in case you want to see more.

Day 1, Fine Cooking 1 at ICE

I managed to erase all of the pictures that I took during the first class.

Here is a picture out of the hotel window.
The class was full. 17 of us at a long table. We were handed out a "recipe" book, aprons and "side towels". Then the instructor, Sandra McLean began telling us about the class. Then we got up and took our places. There were 4 stainless steel tables, each with cutting boards, knives (both paring and chef's), and a comis chef (Lee) helping out. We stood expectantly. Then Sandra began by showing us knife skills ... supremes of oranges, potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, tomatoes and broccoli. She emphasized hand and finger placement, the importance of squaring round things before cutting, and evenness of cuts. Then she moved on to the difference between woody herbs (most likely perennials, and oily) and annual water based herbs. The woody herbs, like thyme and rosemary can be used dried and can go in the cooking process early. The others, like basil and parsley and cilantro, have to go in at the last moment because their flavors are water based.  We were preparing the following things: soup (with the onions, tomatoes, carrots, garlic, and potatoes), diced potatoes with persillade (garlic and parsley), broccoli, lamb chops with 4 different herbed butters, salads with 4 different dressings and four desserts.(

herbed butters:
• parsley rosemary and shallots
• mustard, parsley and thyme
• lemon, parsley
• horseradish

vinaigarettes:
• classic
• lemon cream
• creamy shallot
• mustard

desserts:
• sliced oranges with Grand Marnier
• blueberries with maple cream
• raspberries in port wine
• strawberries in red wine

We chopped and peeled and diced and minced for a good while.
The potatoes and broccoli had to be blanched, shocked in ice water (potatoes are optional at the shocking), dried then cooked. The chops had to be pulled from the fridge, then dried, then salted and peppered. The chops had to go into a pan that was very hot, and they couldn't touch each other. The salad dressings had to be whisked and whisked slowly with the drizzled in olive oil. The desserts had to be made, then refrigerated. The herbed butters had to be prepared, then rolled in wax paper, then refrigerated.
After many hours we were finished. We looked back at the long table and the places were set up for us to eat. We feasted.
Then we were quizzed. "What is a mise en place?" "What should you do when cutting vegetables?" "What are the 5 rules of sauteeing?" Many questions.
The instruction was great. The food was divine. We were warned that tomorrow would be more difficult, and we should prepare by reading the assignment. We will be learning how to truss and roast chicken.
I will be taking pictures and not erasing them.

arrived in NYC

Arrived with very few problems last night around 7pm. Immediately went out and got lost walking around in the wet cold. Kept looking up at the lighted buildings, and got thoroughly turned around. Loved it. The hotel was kind enough to give me a "room with a view" on the 11th floor. Two tiny (2-3 people) elevators that creep up 11 floors. A tiny room with an expansive view. Will post pics tomorrow. Right now I am off to my first class, "Fine Cooking I" after a "continental breakfast" in the hotel lobby.